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| William Chapman: ‘My son is gone and nobody is trying to help me understand’ | William Chapman: ‘My son is gone and nobody is trying to help me understand’ |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At dawn on the last day of his life, William Chapman lay dozing on a battered black leather sofa. The living room television to which he’d fallen asleep buzzed beside him. | At dawn on the last day of his life, William Chapman lay dozing on a battered black leather sofa. The living room television to which he’d fallen asleep buzzed beside him. |
| When his mother, Sallie, woke at 4.30am as she often does, she crept around her 18-year-old, checking all the windows and doors of their small slatted house in southern Virginia for the peace of mind she needed for a couple more hours of sleep. | When his mother, Sallie, woke at 4.30am as she often does, she crept around her 18-year-old, checking all the windows and doors of their small slatted house in southern Virginia for the peace of mind she needed for a couple more hours of sleep. |
| Related: William Chapman: unarmed 18-year-old shot dead by officer who killed before | |
| “And I tiptoed back into my room, because I didn’t want to wake him,” Sallie, 35, told the Guardian, tearful with regret that she hadn’t whispered some final message. | “And I tiptoed back into my room, because I didn’t want to wake him,” Sallie, 35, told the Guardian, tearful with regret that she hadn’t whispered some final message. |
| Three hours later, William lay on the concrete of the parking lot of their local Walmart, to where he had raced along State Route 337 on his bike while Sallie dreamed. He was killed by the bullets of Stephen Rankin, a Portsmouth police officer who tried to arrest him for an alleged shoplifting inside the store minutes earlier. | Three hours later, William lay on the concrete of the parking lot of their local Walmart, to where he had raced along State Route 337 on his bike while Sallie dreamed. He was killed by the bullets of Stephen Rankin, a Portsmouth police officer who tried to arrest him for an alleged shoplifting inside the store minutes earlier. |
| No one told Sallie. | No one told Sallie. |
| Later, after not hearing from her son by 7pm and learning from news reports that the man the radio said had been killed at Walmart was 18 years old, she called the police. “All that day, it just didn’t feel right,” she said. | Later, after not hearing from her son by 7pm and learning from news reports that the man the radio said had been killed at Walmart was 18 years old, she called the police. “All that day, it just didn’t feel right,” she said. |
| A phone operator began creating a missing person’s report, but William’s name seemed to jolt her. Sallie was abruptly put on hold. Then a detective came on the line. | A phone operator began creating a missing person’s report, but William’s name seemed to jolt her. Sallie was abruptly put on hold. Then a detective came on the line. |
| He asked for her address and said he had to visit. Sallie’s stomach dropped. “Are you telling me you need to come to my house because my son is gone?” she asked. “Ma’am, I really need to come to your home,” said the detective. | He asked for her address and said he had to visit. Sallie’s stomach dropped. “Are you telling me you need to come to my house because my son is gone?” she asked. “Ma’am, I really need to come to your home,” said the detective. |
| When a police officer had arrived at their home five years earlier, William was in the back seat of the squad car. He had been picked up walking to the mall along the inside of a tunnel that takes traffic underneath the Elizabeth River into downtown Norfolk, according to Sallie. “Cars and construction workers only,” the officer had said, with a smile. | When a police officer had arrived at their home five years earlier, William was in the back seat of the squad car. He had been picked up walking to the mall along the inside of a tunnel that takes traffic underneath the Elizabeth River into downtown Norfolk, according to Sallie. “Cars and construction workers only,” the officer had said, with a smile. |
| “Ma, I think I wanna be a cop,” William said after the encounter, according to his mother. “He loved the cars and all the gadgets,” she explained. | “Ma, I think I wanna be a cop,” William said after the encounter, according to his mother. “He loved the cars and all the gadgets,” she explained. |
| Life unfolded differently. Sallie, a single mother of five, got in trouble with the law. William was expelled from school, his mother says, for making prank phone calls and carrying a cigarette lighter styled like a gun. He was taken into the care of state social services. | Life unfolded differently. Sallie, a single mother of five, got in trouble with the law. William was expelled from school, his mother says, for making prank phone calls and carrying a cigarette lighter styled like a gun. He was taken into the care of state social services. |
| Free to decide for himself having turned 18, William was allowed to return home in March. So began the happiest six weeks Sallie can remember. “I was just so anxious and so ready,” she said. “We went out visiting people, we went out to eat. We were just happy. | Free to decide for himself having turned 18, William was allowed to return home in March. So began the happiest six weeks Sallie can remember. “I was just so anxious and so ready,” she said. “We went out visiting people, we went out to eat. We were just happy. |
| “Sometimes I wouldn’t even sleep in my room and we would sleep on the two couches, watching television. I just wanted to be by him.” | “Sometimes I wouldn’t even sleep in my room and we would sleep on the two couches, watching television. I just wanted to be by him.” |
| William was introverted in school, according to teachers, and buried his head in books. Among his favourites were The Great Gatsby and The Last Olympian, a fantasy novel based on Greek mythology in which, according to its publishers, “the battle for western civilisation rages on the streets of Manhattan”. | William was introverted in school, according to teachers, and buried his head in books. Among his favourites were The Great Gatsby and The Last Olympian, a fantasy novel based on Greek mythology in which, according to its publishers, “the battle for western civilisation rages on the streets of Manhattan”. |
| He loved acclaimed films such as The Shawshank Redemption and Blade Runner, and pop music ranging from The Beatles to Rihanna. | He loved acclaimed films such as The Shawshank Redemption and Blade Runner, and pop music ranging from The Beatles to Rihanna. |
| Holdalls bulging with school work now sit on the floor of William’s bedroom at home. Geometry test papers sit alongside printouts from a guide to teach yourself Hindi. The floor is as messy with candy and clothes as the rooms of 18-year-olds who will soon be back to hear their parents demand they tidy up. | Holdalls bulging with school work now sit on the floor of William’s bedroom at home. Geometry test papers sit alongside printouts from a guide to teach yourself Hindi. The floor is as messy with candy and clothes as the rooms of 18-year-olds who will soon be back to hear their parents demand they tidy up. |
| “I have to clean his room, I know,” said Sallie. “But I can’t. I can’t pack up his clothes and wash them but this time give them to someone else, or throw them away.” | “I have to clean his room, I know,” said Sallie. “But I can’t. I can’t pack up his clothes and wash them but this time give them to someone else, or throw them away.” |
| Dozens of identical notebooks are stacked against his bedroom wall. William used them for homework and whatever else he was thinking about. “Book of knowledge,” one is titled. Another, “Book of morals and principle views”. | Dozens of identical notebooks are stacked against his bedroom wall. William used them for homework and whatever else he was thinking about. “Book of knowledge,” one is titled. Another, “Book of morals and principle views”. |
| A folder full of sheets of paper holds the words to all the songs and poems he wrote, now charged with new poignance. “Bullets hit your temple left you dead and killed without feeling,” said one. “Brace yourself for an encounter with the angel of death.” Another: “I hope you realize that you are your own prize, so take pride in yourself. Everyday I think I want to make it to see the next day.” | A folder full of sheets of paper holds the words to all the songs and poems he wrote, now charged with new poignance. “Bullets hit your temple left you dead and killed without feeling,” said one. “Brace yourself for an encounter with the angel of death.” Another: “I hope you realize that you are your own prize, so take pride in yourself. Everyday I think I want to make it to see the next day.” |
| For his mother, the days and nights have become a blur of tearful disbelief. “He was my rock,” she said. “I love all my kids but my boy, he was so strong, you know? Now I ain’t got nobody to talk to late when everybody’s asleep.” | For his mother, the days and nights have become a blur of tearful disbelief. “He was my rock,” she said. “I love all my kids but my boy, he was so strong, you know? Now I ain’t got nobody to talk to late when everybody’s asleep.” |
| William is now lying on a bed at a funeral home in Portsmouth. His funeral service was held last month. But, contrary to reporting by local newspapers, he was not “laid to rest”. Struggling to pay $1,200 monthly rent, Sallie can not afford the $3,600 fee for a burial. | William is now lying on a bed at a funeral home in Portsmouth. His funeral service was held last month. But, contrary to reporting by local newspapers, he was not “laid to rest”. Struggling to pay $1,200 monthly rent, Sallie can not afford the $3,600 fee for a burial. |
| “I need help,” she said. “I don’t have nothing. I don’t have no life insurance. I’m young, my kids are young. I was thinking ‘We have time for that.’” No one at Portsmouth police department, Virginia state police or Walmart will tell her anything about what happened. | “I need help,” she said. “I don’t have nothing. I don’t have no life insurance. I’m young, my kids are young. I was thinking ‘We have time for that.’” No one at Portsmouth police department, Virginia state police or Walmart will tell her anything about what happened. |
| “I’m just a piece of paper on a desk,” she said. “‘We’ll get to it. It’ll take a while.’” | “I’m just a piece of paper on a desk,” she said. “‘We’ll get to it. It’ll take a while.’” |
| Sallie has had no approach from the media-savvy attorneys who represent the families of other young men killed by police. Aside from minimal coverage and a few small gatherings locally, her son’s death has gone relatively unnoticed by media and protesters. | Sallie has had no approach from the media-savvy attorneys who represent the families of other young men killed by police. Aside from minimal coverage and a few small gatherings locally, her son’s death has gone relatively unnoticed by media and protesters. |
| “I feel alone,” she said. “Because my son is gone and because nobody is trying to help me understand why.” | “I feel alone,” she said. “Because my son is gone and because nobody is trying to help me understand why.” |
| Between repeats of CSI and Ghost Whisperers, she and William used to watch clips of the protests set in motion by the death in Ferguson, Missouri, last year of Michael Brown, another unarmed black 18-year-old who was shot dead after a struggle with a police officer following an alleged theft. | Between repeats of CSI and Ghost Whisperers, she and William used to watch clips of the protests set in motion by the death in Ferguson, Missouri, last year of Michael Brown, another unarmed black 18-year-old who was shot dead after a struggle with a police officer following an alleged theft. |
| They also watched news reports about the deadly encounters with police of Eric Garner in New York and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, who would eventually die three days before William. “That’s messed up, Ma,” he would say, according to Sallie. | They also watched news reports about the deadly encounters with police of Eric Garner in New York and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, who would eventually die three days before William. “That’s messed up, Ma,” he would say, according to Sallie. |
| “But he told me, ‘That’ll never be me, Ma.’ And I said ‘How do you know? People out here’s crazy, and officers they don’t seem to care no more. And William was just like: ‘That ain’t gonna be me.’” | “But he told me, ‘That’ll never be me, Ma.’ And I said ‘How do you know? People out here’s crazy, and officers they don’t seem to care no more. And William was just like: ‘That ain’t gonna be me.’” |